New York, NY -- In its ninth game of the season, the Violet hockey team continued to prove just how powerful it can be. Beating SUNY-Albany 4-0, the Violets improved their record to 7-2, snapping a two game losing streak.
NYU started off strong, scoring the first of four goals early in the first period on a power play score by sophomore right-wing Bryan Friedman. The goal was Friedman's sixth of the season and set the stage for domination by the Violets. The first period was spent largely in the Great Danes' zone, and the Violets had 19 shots on goal by the end of the period.
Although no one scored in the second, the Violets established a sense of security and confidence over Albany. The Great Danes had another penalty in the second, but the Violets didn't get the goal that time.
The Violets picked up the pace again in the third period, scoring three goals. The second goal of the game came at 5:46 by sophomore defenseman Ryan Hughes, while the third goal came on a power play by Sebastien Bilodeau at 15:38, with assists from Michael Tanella and John-Paul Barnych. The fourth and final goal came on yet another power play, when forwards Mark Branden and Friedman assisted sophomore forward Ben Maniere.
"We finally picked it up in the third period," left-wing Bryan Schleppy siad. "Albany wasn't very strong. They weren't very good skaters."
Senior defenseman Jeremy Steinhaus said the strong point for the team was "our power play. We worked really hard and didn't have many bad penalties. The star of the game was our goalie with his shut out."
Goaltender Jay Lee stopped all 19 shots on goal, said he felt "the team played really well: good defense and good offense. If you have the puck all the time, there isn't much the other team can do."
"Chad's given us a chance to compete every night," said head coach Steve Hetherman. "He's kept us in a lot of games."
And the Albany Great Danes didn't do much. They were not only outscored 4-0 and outshot 51-19, but they looked desperate and anxious throughout the game, accumulating six penalties. Three of those allowed the Violets to score. They spent the majority of the game playing defense, clearing the puck out of their zone when possible. The strength of the Great Danes was in their goaltender, who stopped 47 of the 51 shots on goal.
NYU played a solid game against the Great Danes, complete with clean passing, fast skating, and effective fore-checking. The team looked relaxed and confident, taking advantage of power play opportunities. They refused to let up, even after taking a 3-0 lead with four minutes left in the game.
After winning their first six games of the season, the Violets lost two games before facing Albany. Albany came into the game 6-6. NYU faces the SUNY Stony Brook Seawolves next Saturday. The Seawolves are ranked first in the ACHA Northeast; the Violets are ranked third. The Violets lost to the Seawolves in last year's post-season.